Thoughts of America's battlefield heroes might conjure up images of bravery overseas in service to oppressed and conquered peoples around the world.
Captain John Paul Jones became a legend for the US Navy leading Bonhomme Richard to an improbable victory over HMS Serapis off the coast of England during the American Revolution.
The American expeditionary ended the fighting of World War I in Western Europe.
The Marines gave America its most heroically memorable image by hoisting its old glory over Iwo Jima, on the edge of the Pacific Ocean, during the final months of World War II.
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Small American flags are placed near the graves of Civil War soldiers of the United States 1st Mississippi Infantry (of African descent) at the Vicksburg National Cemetery February 14, 2024, in Vicksburg, Mississippi. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
But you don't need to travel abroad to walk in the footsteps of American heroes on the battlefields or reflect on the sacrifice of those who gave their lives here in the United States.
Here's a look at five U.S. travel destinations that help tell the story of the cost of freedom.
Hawaii — Pearl Harbor
History of the Second World War lives in infamy in the heart of Honolulu, where Pearl Harbor remains a powerful testament to American tragedy and resolve.
A lei is placed in front of the list of names of servicemen killed on the USS Arizona during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, at the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu. (Getty Images)
Tours are highlighted by the haunting memorial to the USS Arizona, which catastrophically exploded on December 7, 1941, and which serves as a tomb for the 1,102 sailors killed in the Sunday morning attack.
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Even today, oil is leaking from the ship, as if the Arizona was still shedding tears, observers noted. Other attractions include Hickam Field, where American planes were destroyed on the ground before they had a chance to return fire, and the USS Missouri.
The mighty battleship was not there Pearl Harbor during the attack, but it floats as a testament to American determination and triumph.
Japan signed the surrender documents ending World War II aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay on September 2, 1945. less than four years after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Louisiana — Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve
Visitors place flowers on veterans' graves at Chalmette National Cemetery in Chalmette, Louisiana. The cemetery is located just outside of New Orleans, adjacent to the Chalmette Battlefield, site of the 1815 Battle of New Orleans. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
A vast landscape celebrates one of the planet's unique ecologies and cultures, as well as dramatic American history.
The park is located in the heart of bayou country, near the mouth of the Mississippi River. Highlights include the Chalmette Battlefield, where Andrew Jackson led a highly diverse army of Americans to victory over the British at the end of the War of 1812; and the Chalmette National Cemetery, housing the remains of veterans of this battle, civil war and other conflicts.
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The Barataria Preserve, a haunting wilderness of 26,000 acres of hardwood forests and bayous, offers opportunities to view alligators and other swamp creatures in their natural habitat.
Maryland-Annapolis
Midshipman graduates toss their hats in the air at the end of the U.S. Naval Academy graduation and commissioning ceremony at the Naval Academy May 26, 2023, in Annapolis, Maryland. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
There is perhaps no better place to celebrate the nation's ties to the seas than in Maryland's capital, which was also briefly the nation's capital in 1783, when the Treaty of Paris was signed, ending the American Revolution.
Annapolis is home to the U.S. Naval Academy and is known as the “Sailing Capital of the United States.” Its colonial-era downtown is a great place to explore and enjoy Maryland's signature style. oysters and crabs at local hot spots such as Middleton's or Cantler's.
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Annapolis is the state's center of delicious food Crab and oyster trail, showcasing the best delicacies of the Chesapeake Bay.
Mississippi — Vicksburg National Military Park
A family poses for a photo at the entrance to Vicksburg National Military Park in Mississippi. (Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
The Civil War siege of Vicksburg ended after six weeks with a victory for Ulysses S. Grant's Union troops on July 4, 1863, the day after Federal forces repelled Pickett's charge for claim victory 1,000 miles to the northeast at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
Vicksburg Haunted Park is highlighted today by some 1,400 memorials and markers, representing the 32 states that sent men to fight there, and two major cemeteries of Confederate and Union war dead.
National park attractions also include the USS Cairo Gunboat and Museum, showcasing the ironclad Union ship that patrolled the Mississippi River. Success at Vicksburg helped propel Grant to lead the Union army the following year and, ultimately, to the presidency.
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But his merciless siege nearly starved the residents of Vicksburg. The city would not celebrate July 4 again until 1947, during a visit and speech by World War II hero General Dwight Eisenhower.
Pennsylvania — Gettysburg National Military Park
A restored cannon at a Union position along Cemetery Ridge points toward the battlefield at Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. (Tim Sloan/AFP via Getty Images)
The staggering human cost of preserving the nation is on display in this sprawling battlefield in rural south-central Pennsylvania.
Gettysburg pitted approximately 160,000 men against each other in a three-day pitched battle that turned the tide of the Civil War in favor of the Union. Some 50,000 soldiers from both sides were killed or wounded. It remains the greatest battle in North American history.
America's battlefield heroes and their sacrifices are commemorated in several travel locations you can visit to soak up the history. (Getty Images)
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Visitors today can stand where Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain ordered the 20th Maine to fix bayonets and charge Little Round Top to save the southern end of the Union line, walking in the footsteps of the brave Confederates massacred during Pickett's charge on the decisive day of the battle or tour. the vast battlefield by car, exploring the hundreds of haunting monuments that dot the landscape today.
